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  1. #41

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    my wife, my girlfriend.

  2. #42
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    books...heavy arse books!!

  3. #43
    Registered User stilllife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flakes View Post
    I have been buying ultra light gear in order to justify one big weight. Lots of zpack stuff. But I have a 1 pound 8 ounce CPAP machine and a 3 pound 4 ounce lithium 54000 mAh portable power charger to keep it going. If I could leave it behind I would, but of course I have to be able to sleep.
    Have you tried Theravent nose strips. They are for snoring but I use them for my apnea. It works for me. It allows just enough back pressure to keep your pipe open.

  4. #44

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    Things I ended up getting rid of and could have done without day one: pants (no I didn't go bottomless, shorts is all you need), puffy jacket (I never actually "needed" mine but this all depends on when you start, weather that year, and how fast you do the AT), stove, first aid supplies (everyone else will be carrying way too much and not hesitate to hook you up should you be in need), beanie (again I didn't experience much cold weather due to pace and timing), Spot (I took it for my mom's saniety but maybe turned on twice)


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  5. #45

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    Quote Originally Posted by jj dont play View Post
    ... first aid supplies (everyone else will be carrying way too much and not hesitate to hook you up should you be in need)...)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    relying on what someone else will be carrying is bad practice

  6. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    you might be surprised how valuable this little thing can be; I used a cutoff Dasani bottle that my Smartwater bottle fit inside. Can't tell you how many times it was borrowed :-) Definitely comes in handy.
    Cut how?


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  7. #47
    Registered User BuckeyeBill's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jj dont play

    ... first aid supplies (everyone else will be carrying way too much and not hesitate to hook you up should you be in need)...)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    relying on what someone else will be carrying is bad practice
    I agree with LAF on this. If you can't carry the bare minimum, why should we use our supplies on you? If your going to be like this, then have a list of area hospitals and EMS services and you can use their overpriced supplies. I don't mean this in a condescending way nor am I yelling at you. It just seems to me that too many people are only thinking like you. What happens when you come across another hiker that needs first aid or you need it. Neither one of you have a kit. I guess you just sit there and bleed.
    Blackheart

  8. #48

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    Just cut the upper 1/3, maybe a little less off. Works great as a scoop, weighs very little, and was easy to carry since smart water bottle fits inside nicely


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  9. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by BuckeyeBill View Post
    Originally Posted by jj dont play

    ... first aid supplies (everyone else will be carrying way too much and not hesitate to hook you up should you be in need)...)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




    I agree with LAF on this. If you can't carry the bare minimum, why should we use our supplies on you? If your going to be like this, then have a list of area hospitals and EMS services and you can use their overpriced supplies. I don't mean this in a condescending way nor am I yelling at you. It just seems to me that too many people are only thinking like you. What happens when you come across another hiker that needs first aid or you need it. Neither one of you have a kit. I guess you just sit there and bleed.
    Point is what are you really going to carry? Other than a few little bandaids and Advil?
    Everybody carries to much
    I.E.I needed cold medicine, not a huge deal I could tough it out until town. Turns out a guy had like 2lbs. of it haha and was glad to give it away

    Bad cut? Burn? Break? Most of these can be addressed short term with things you'll already have available. Cloth, branches, water, etc. you aren't going to be able to "fix" anything really bad you just need to be able to stabilize the situation (tourniquet, splint, etc) until you can get to town.
    A lot of people have enough gear to do a surgery and no clue how to use it.

    Also instead of a cut down bottle for a scoop. A ziploc is lighter and works just as good.


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  10. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    Just cut the upper 1/3, maybe a little less off. Works great as a scoop, weighs very little, and was easy to carry since smart water bottle fits inside nicely


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    Thnx


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  11. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by lesliedgray View Post
    Thnx


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    And having the smart water bottle fit inside something else helps me get my water bottle out and in of my side pockets whether in the move or standing still - ziplock doesn’t do that for me.


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  12. #52
    Registered User DownEaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    Just cut the upper 1/3, maybe a little less off. Works great as a scoop, weighs very little, and was easy to carry since smart water bottle fits inside nicely
    I don't understand why you'd want the extra weight, unless you're going stoveless. You can use your mug or pot to scoop up water. You're going to be heating it to boiling temperature anyway, thus no contamination worries.

  13. #53

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    Quote Originally Posted by DownEaster View Post
    I don't understand why you'd want the extra weight, unless you're going stoveless. You can use your mug or pot to scoop up water. You're going to be heating it to boiling temperature anyway, thus no contamination worries.
    Don't carry a mug, and as to pot, "pot" is stashed in my pack and would be difficult to get to and it doubles as my mug (why would I want to carry both a pot and a mug, that's a lot more wt than a small piece of plastic), not to mention an inflexible pot or mug isn't always as workable for getting water as is something that is flexible - I don't just get water when I get to a place to stay for the night, and most often carry little water and many sources of water along the way it helps to have a flexible scoop. A small piece of plastic carried on the outside of the pack is easy to get to. As someone mentions, a ziplock works well to, except that it doesn't provide me with the added benefit I get of the ease added in retrieving and replacing my water bottle while drinking on the move - it really does remove a small source of frustration for me. It's just what works for me and why. Some folks can't go without both a mug and a pot, I'm quite happy doing so. As it stands, my BPW for cooler, shoulder season runs around 10.5 lbs. Could it get a lot lighter than that? Sure, but I carry separate clothes for sleeping as I can't do without that, others can. And the beat goes on :-) We all have our comfort levels and what makes us happy on the trail. Sometimes I learn something from someone that makes it into my kit, or a way of doing something that suits my nature, sometimes not. That's why I love this forum, so many ideas, some work for me, some don't :-)
    Last edited by LAF; 12-27-2017 at 16:51.

  14. #54
    Registered User DownEaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    (why would I want to carry both a pot and a mug, that's a lot more wt than a small piece of plastic)
    Lots of people want to have food and beverage simultaneously: coffee with their oatmeal, or whatever.
    Quote Originally Posted by LAF
    not to mention an inflexible pot or mug isn't always as workable for getting water as is something that is flexible
    My mug is an Ozark Trail collapsible job ($1.42 at Walmart), so if you're looking to add a mug to your gear for that beverage-with-meal experience, you can make it a flexible one. And it'll squish down to fit in any mesh pocket on the outside of your pack. Sterilize (and also preheat) with some boiling water when you're making your cocoa at the end of the day's hiking.

  15. #55

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    Quote Originally Posted by KDogg View Post
    ...Make a homemade water scoop (out of a small bottled water container)(folks will be borrowing it from you). As some have already said, go ultralight if you possibly can...
    Quote Originally Posted by LAF View Post
    you might be surprised how valuable this little thing can be; I used a cutoff Dasani bottle that my Smartwater bottle fit inside. Can't tell you how many times it was borrowed :-) Definitely comes in handy.
    Couldn't either of you have used a cook pot as a scoop? Or, a stick, hollowed reed(cane can work), straw, piece of bamboo, empty snack or sandwich sized Ziploc, etc to also capture water.,,even from a seep? Would avoid redundancy if you already have any of these available which is what you sagaciously advised in the first place.

  16. #56
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    Have to agree with this. I thought I was being clever by installing the red cross first aid app on my phone. Turns out that 99% of first aid instructions involve “get them stabilized and call 911”

  17. #57
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    I started with a Jetboil, but got rid of it in CT , maybe bring a small MP3 player for music / podcasts

  18. #58

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    Quote Originally Posted by egilbe View Post
    I took a nice Anker double panel solar charger with me in the HMW. Never had enough sunshine or time enough in the sunlight to charge anything. Stopped at Caratunk B&B and talked to Paul (Boulder) about it. He confirmed that it was pretty useless on the AT, but if I ever hiked the PCT, it would useful.
    And, there you have it...a more accurate assessment of why a solar panel fails for most on the AT. They expect to consistently charge it on the fly while hiking. It's not that they can't work! I've seen them work many times within AT NOBO and SOBO and summer hiking time frames to know otherwise. We want them to work in specific ways. It's the user's self imposed inflexible applications of them that is often the cause of failure.

    Another reason why they don't work out on the AT again is not the solar panel but expectations of high energy availability for high device usage. There is a expectation of always having to be "connected."

    I've witnessed too many times others as well as myself getting badly sunburned on the AT in late spring and through summer. To assume the AT is always a shaded green tunnel is absolutely incorrect!

  19. #59

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    When using one device for map apps, regular music and high camera usage, always being left on, phone, browsing, watching movies, audio books, weather reports, compass,
    etc etc that equals eggs all in one basket high usage. Then, we blame the device or the solar panel. It's our usage that is most to blame.

  20. #60
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    Next time I'm taking the sub7 hammock just for extra comfortable breaks/naps. I'll still tent at night. I'm not UL, and don't "crush" miles...obviously

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